Mexican-American War

The Mexican-American War occurred from 1846 to 1848 when the United States went to war with Mexico to conquer all of Mexico's lands between the Midwest and the Pacific Ocean. The war started as a dispute over southern Texas, with President James K. Polk dispatching US Army troops to the disputed land along the Rio Grande to fight against the encroaching Mexican Army; after a few skirmishes, the USA declared war. The Americans succeeded in overrunning California and Mexico's North American possessions quickly, assisted by the uprising of the California Republic. The Americans proceeded to invade Mexico itself in 1847, with generals Zachary Taylor and Winfield Scott distinguishing themselves while defeating the armies of Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna on their home soil. The US Army captured Mexico City and Veracruz, among several other cities, and peace was concluded at the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on 3 February 1848. Mexico ceded California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and southern Texas to the United States in the "Mexican Cession", a successful conclusion to the American policy of "Manifest Destiny". In the USA, however, the war would lead to the intensification of the slavery debate, while Mexico would reexamine its weak political system.